Mortal
by FireWren
Summary: Some people are born hero's. Born to a life of pain, suffering, betrayal, hatred, resentment and death. Some people aren't nearly as lucky. 17 years after TLO. Rated 'T' for safety.
1. Chapter 1

I have recently discovered the gem that is the 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' Series, and was overcome with the irresistible urge to create my own fic. This is the result. Set sixteen years after 'The Last Olympian.'

Disclaimer: I sure as Hades am not Rick Riordan, and thus don't own PJO. And that makes me :(

Read and Review please and thank you.

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**Mortal**

I am mortal. And yes, that is something that needs to be clarified. That is, if you live my life. You see, while I am mortal, not everyone I meet is. Not every one I've befriended or loved or even hated is. I suppose my parents had to be, but I couldn't tell you first hand as I've never met them. And because of that, because of the Fates placing me in that particular orphanage and causing me to befriend that child, this has happened to me. I am a mortal in a half-blood world...

Chapter 1

My name is Raymond. I'm an orphan who was dropped off the moment I could be on the doorsteps of the 'Good Smiles' orphanage in New York. And my life has turned into a living hell.

When did it all begin? I'm not sure. There are numerous points in my life that you could choose from, but I believe I've narrowed it down to one simple day. I was twelve. Yeah, so I was kinda young, but my world isn't exactly age-exclusive. It was the morning of the last day of school, and I was in a rotten mood. I liked school. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: twelve year-old liking school?!? But I did. I went to this awesome sea-side boarding school in California. The weather was amazing, the view was incredible, and we had so awesome extra-circulars. Surfing, rock-climbing, wrestling, hiking, and so on. You could spend a life-time there and not finish it all. Also, my only friends were at that school. I was kind of a nerd and didn't make friends easily. And of course, I didn't want to go back to 'Good Smiles'. I hated it there. I may have been the weird intelligent kid at school, but at the orphanage I was that horrible kid with the large school tuition. Apparently, when I was left on the doorstep of 'Good Smiles', I had a bank account details sheet with me. The account contained sixteen hundred thousand dollars. Yeah, so that rules out being left because my parents couldn't afford me. But I digress.

Anyway, so yeah last day of school. I blinked as the sunlight fell on my closed eyelids, rousing me from my dream. I wasn't to bummed about that. I've never had a pleasant dream in my life. I can't tell you exactly what happens in my dreams, only that they always leave me with a foreboding feeling. But this one in particular I could tell was a doozey. Flashes of fire and storm clouds, pain and shadows, death and misery remained with me. Just the kind of thing a twelve year-old needs in his life. A groan from across the room roused me from my thoughts as my roommate started to move. As I had no desire to be in the room when the jerk woke up, I quickly dressed and headed out for breakfast.

After one uneventful breakfast and boring last day speech I found myself aimlessly wandering the campus grounds. I do that when I'm waiting for something to happen: wander and layout information that I know. First was my Advanced Mathematics exam in an hour. Next was my Phys'Ed class, where we would have a giant game of dodge ball. Then I had my final exam in Basic Psychology (technically a ninth grade class, but my teachers were running out of things to challenge me with.). That would wrap up the tests, as we had all ready had most of our exams in the past couple of days. That just left the going away speech, three hours of chill time, then the agonizing wait for someone from the orphanage to come and pick me up. But I had a feeling something else was going to happen today. Something strange, random and unbelievable. Something like...

"Yo, Ray J! What's the hey?" A voice shouted from behind me. I turned around to find myself tackled to the ground by a large, brown-haired mass.

"Easy Felix. You want a rival for the title of school 'Gimp'?"

My friends. Typical. A hand appeared in front of my face. I grasped it and was immediately pulled to my feet in front of the weirdest group of people you will ever find.

The lead of the group looked like the sun of a surfer champion. Perfect tan, flawless face, athletic stature, wild sandy-blond hair, muscle shirt, shorts and flip-flops. Just give him a board and the image is complete. That is, if it weren't for his storm-grey eyes that radiated intellect and power. Instead, he preferred to spend his time reading. That was my best friend Peter.

Next was his twin sister and absolute opposite, Abigail. Curled black hair, dazzling white smile and beautiful sea green eyes decorated her face, but that was nothing to her loyal and carefree personality. The butterflies that took up residence in my chest started doing backflips when she fluttered her eyes and me and smiled: that is, until she started doing the same thing to every other organism in site. She, not her brother was the surfer of the family.

Then there was Felix, the guy who had tackled me. He could move surprisingly fast when he wanted to, considering he was crippled and walked with a nasty limp. He was short and a little pudgy, with a slightly darker complexion and the makings of a magnificent black-brown Afro.

Then, to wrap up our little group was Alexis. She looked like a rocker chick in miniature: leather jacket, sparkly shirt, jeans with the knees missing, several silver chains and jewellery, long and crazy black hair, and sky-blue eyes. She was lucky that the school encouraged unique style expression of all ages. And of course, she was very polite, understanding and charismatic, if a little over-competitive.

So yeah, that was our group. The bookworm who looked like a surfer, the surfer-chick who looked like a bookworm, the cripple jokester, and the lady-like rocker-chick. Oh, and then you can just throw me in: the freaky intelligent guy with long blood-red hair in a pony-tail, ice blue eyes and (so I've been told) a vaguely psychopathic look. That was us: the outcasts.

"Hey guys." I said, brushing my fair out of my face.

"Finally! Last day of school" Abby exclaimed, punching the air. "We're almost out of here. I've been waiting for summer for so long!"

"Yeah, since about the first day of school." Peter muttered. I laughed, while Abby glared at him.

"So, what are you guys planning for summer this year." Felix asked, as we started to walk.

"Mom and Dad are taking me and Pete to a camp this year" Abby exclaimed immediately. "They said if we liked it there, we can go back next summer! Oh, I know I'll like it. I wanna go back again already!" The rest of us laughed as Peter let out a sigh.

"I don't know what I'm doing." Alexis said as we swerved to avoid a bridge where ninth graders liked to drop water balloons. "My mom called yesterday and said that she had a surprise and that she would be picking me up today."

"Orphanage." I said, leaving it at that. They knew I didn't like talking about my summer residence.

"Well, I'm heading over to Long Island." Felix said. It might have been my imagination, but he seemed to be looking intently at Alexis as he said this. And for the rest of the day, Felix seemed to be watching her, like he was waiting for something to happen. Something bad...

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Decided to end it here, in case you were tired of reading long and boring descriptions. More action/adventure in the next chapter. 20 brownie points to the first one to correctly guess the hidden heritage's in this chapter. (Why do you think I didn't use any last names :P)


	2. Chapter 2

Next chapter!

A big thanks to dessers6, wisegirlindisguise, and wingednflying for reviewing the last installment. To see the results of your guesses, stay tuned for the next few chapters.

Disclaimer: Not Rick, no PJO for me.

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Chapter 2

I laid back against the stone steps, waiting. It was about six pm, three hours after I was supposed to be picked up by 'Good Smiles'. Typical.

Abby and Felix were engaged in, according to Felix, an 'intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.' Peter was reading a book off to the side, and Alexis was playing some hand-held video game. Which left me to wait and brood about my summer. There were a few other kids waiting to be picked up, but they gave us wide birth. But I didn't blame them. We were a weird crew. We had all met in the school hospital three years ago. I had broken my leg, Felix was getting a note to excess him from Phys'ed classes, and the other three were all getting their medication. Turns out Abby, Peter and Alexis all have dyslexia and ADHD, though it seems much more mild in Peter then in the other two. Peter can at least read if he puts his mind to it.

So yeah, we had met together, decided that outcasts should stick together, and became fast friends. Ever since then, we've watched each others backs, helped out when one was down, and became an unbeatable crew. Until summer.

Abby started shouting in triumph as her rock smashed threw Felix's scissors. I found myself watching her as she danced around, her curly black hair bouncing in the air. Then I noticed Peter watching me. Our eyes met, and a silent understanding passed between us. He knew how I felt about Abby. You couldn't hide much from Peter. He was pretty darn smart.

Then a grey van appeared in the distance, and I groaned as I recognized the logo on the side. They had finally come to retrieve me. "Well guys, looks like my ride is here."

Felix came over and gave me a fist pound. Alexis looked up from her game, smiled and waved good bye, Peter nodded silently towards me, and Abby gave me a big hug, turning my legs to jelly for a few seconds.

The van pulled up, and a tall business-like man stepped out of the drivers seat. He had a dreary grey suit on and looked a thousand years old, with thin salt-and-pepper hair and a nasty stoop. I didn't recognize him, but he had the 'Good Smiles' happy face logo stitched to his pocket. He looked around and asked in a voice that sounded like a hoarse whisper. "I'm looking for a Mr. Raymond. Is he here?"

Sighing, I stood up and walked over to him. "Here." I said as I walked over to him. "I'm right here."

The man looked me over with eyes that seemed to bore into your soul. Then he turned his gaze to my friends. He glanced over Peter, looked a little at Abby, then turned to Felix. I could have sworn the old guy was glaring at him, and Felix was looking like he wanted to bolt out of there. Then he finally turned to Alexis. His back seemed to straighten, and his eyes were narrow slits.

"Alexis Richardson." The man said. His voice was suddenly strong, and angry. Alexis snapped to attention, looking wearily at the old relic.

"How do you know my name." She asked, setting her game down and standing up.

"We have found you at last." The man said. He seemed to be getting taller.

"We?"

The man was defiantly growing now, his back straightening as he went. His hair became thicker and darker, and muscles seemed to appear on his chest. Suddenly, he was no longer an ancient old man. He was at least ten feet tall, with muscles the size of small boulders. Wisps of flame escaped his mouth, and his eyes shone with an unearthly greed.

"Run!" Felix shouted, as the man roared. A blast of heat engulfed me as a blast of flame shot from the giants mouth. I looked back to see my friends all laying on the ground, opposite a line a fire blazing out from our assaulter.

"What the hell?!" I shouted, turning towards the freak.

"Today is my lucky day. I haven't feasted on flesh in a thousand years. For I am Cacus, the mighty fire giant of Latium!"

"What?"

"Peter! Abigail!"

"Alexis!"

I turned. There was a sea green Toyota Highlander pulled up to the curve, with its driver's and two passenger side doors flung open. Two women were charging towards Abby, Peter, Alexis and Felix. One was a women in her early forties, with pale skin and wild black hair. Alexis mother. The other was tall and athletic, with curly blond hair, tanned skin and grey eyes that were clear even from a distance. Pete and Abby's mom. Then there was a man charging straight towards Cacus. He was also athletic, tanned, and had untidy black hair and sea green eyes. Pete and Abby's dad. And he was carrying a sword.

Wait. A sword? I took a second look, and sure enough it was there. A shimmering bronze sword, blazing through the air. Cacus turned towards him and laughed. "You think yourself a match for me, Half-Blood! I shall crush you!" Cacus took a swipe at Pete and Abby's father, but he rolled out of the way, the slashed with his blade at Cacus's stomach, but Cacus leaped back at shot some more fire. I thought for sure that sword-guy was toast, but he just rolled to the side and launched once more at Cacus. I ran around the unfolding battle until I was kneeling next to my friends.

Peter turned his gaze from his father, though shock and awe were still clear on his features. "You alright?" He asked me.

"Besides the fact a big fire giant-thing just tried to kill us? Fine."

"You can see that!?" Felix asked, bewildered.

"Uh, yeah. I have eyes."

Felix turned to Abby and Peter's mom who was kneeling beside us, eyes wide. They had a quick and rapid discussion in some foreign language. Abby and Pete's mom suggested something, but Felix shook his head. Then a crash brought them back to reality.

Somehow, Abby and Pete's father had tripped Cacus, and was now standing over him, his foot on the back of the giant's neck and his sword pointed at the back of the giant's head. With one mighty thrust, the blade pierced the flesh, and Cacus roared. Then he exploded in a blast of greyish dust.

Silence. Long, uncomfortable silence. Well, I don't know about you but I HATE silence. So I chose to break it.

"What the HELL!"

Peter and Abby's dad was walking over, wiping a cloth over his blade. Then he placed something at the tip and it shrank into a simple ball-point pen. Felix stood up and bowed to him. "Hello sir. It's an honour to finally meet you."

The dad looked at Felix and assessed him quickly. "Laurein's kid? Felix Overdale?"

I don't think I had ever seen Felix so happy at the recognition. "Yes sir! That's me!"

"I've heard good things about you. Helped escort three half-bloods five years ago. Grover has high hopes for you."

"Grover Underwood?" Felix asked, perking up instantly, like he had just heard his favourite food, veggie taco's, were on ten-for-a-dollar. "THEE Grover! Lord of the Wild, and the chosen one of Pan!"

"As well as a personal friend of mine." was the reply, as a kind smile appeared on the man's face. Then he turned to Alexis. "Ah, Alexis! I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Alexis's eyes widened, and she glanced at Abby and Peter, standing slightly behind their father. "You've hear about me?"

"Yes" Peter and Abby's mother said, walking over to stand beside her husband. Alexis mother stood on his other side. "In fact, we could even say that we're all related."

"We are?" Alexis said, looking at her mother, who was nodding with a sad smile on her face.

Alright, I would like to note that I am considered a rather patient person. Not very out-spoken, rather quiet while I wait for my opportunity to speak. But I have my limits, and being nearly killed by a giant disguised as an old man is defiantly one of those limits. "Alright," I said, causing everyone's head's to turn towards me. "I'm glad everyone remembers their manners and everything, but I'd like to know WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! We were just attacked by an evil fire giant disguised as an old man that says he's from pre-Roman times and that his name is Cacus, which I'm pretty sure I've read in ancient Greek stories and then you guys show up with a sword disguised as a pen and you kill Cacus and he doesn't really die just burst into dust then the sword becomes a pen and you act like nothing happens and I really want some answers now!" I shouted, then started panting to get my breath back. I hardly ever went into rapid-fire mode when I was talking, and I could tell by the wide-eyed expressions of my friends that they had noticed.

"So, you actually saw that?" Felix asked again, looking a little nervous.

"Dude, I'm not blind."

"Maybe he's another half-blood." Abby and Peter's mom offered, looking me over.

"He can't be, Mam. He doesn't smell."

"Thank you for noticing that, Felix." I said rather grumpily.

"No, I mean you don't have a scent. You're not a half-blood."

"Maybe he is." The dad offered "And Alexis's scent just threw you off. She's rather powerful, isn't she?"

"She is." Felix admitted.

"I am?" Alexis asked.

"What's your name, son." The dad asked, kneeling down so that he was eye level with me. "Your full name."

"Raymond." I said. "Perseus Raymond Jackson."

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Did I just hear the sound of multiple minds being blown? Ha, anyway, next chapter will hopefully be up shortly.


	3. Chapter 3

My appolagize for waiting so long for such a short chapter. RL can royally suck some times.

A big shout-out to wisegirlindisguise and dessers6 for reviewing my previous chapter. Hope everyone likes this little chapter here, please R&R.

Disclaimer: Don't own PJO. :(

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Chapter 3

Another agonizing silence fell over us, where the only sound was that of the fire cackling behind us, as if it found our exchange amusing. All three adults were looking at me like I had fallen from the moon. Abby, Peter, Alexis and Felix were watching us, waiting for someone to move.

"Your name is Percy Jackson?" The father asked, his eyes not leaving mine. I nodded, and he smiled. "Well, that is something you and I have in common. My name is Percy Jackson too."

My eyebrow made its way skyward. "Really?" I had known I wasn't the only Jackson, but Pete and Abby had said nothing about me sharing their fathers name, despite Abby's enthusiastic nodding.

"Yeah, Dad. That was one of the reasons me and Pete and Ray are such good friends. We're all Jackson's, and he's a Percy just like you!" Peter sighed but nodded a confirmation to his sisters words.

"Please sir." I began. "Understand that I have nothing against the name Percy, but I prefer to go by Raymond. It makes it easier to distinguish between myself and your son."

Mr. Jackson smiled, nodding his understanding. "Yeah, I can see where the confusion of Peter Perseus Jackson and Perseus Raymond Jackson could come in. Alright, Raymond it is."

Mrs Richardson walked forwards, tapping Mr. Jackson lightly on the back. "Didn't you mention that we were in a hurry? After that little attack, I think you're right."

"Ah, yes." Mr. Jackson exclaimed, standing up. "We better get moving. Ray, Felix, you should come with us."

"Where to?" I asked wearily. It's not that I didn't trust Mr. Jackson, but I didn't feel like getting into a van with someone I had just met when he was swinging a sword around.

"Camp Half-Blood." Mrs Jackson said, as she walked towards the van. Mr. Jackson made to follow, but stopped suddenly. Frowning, he did a quick head-count. Apparently dissatisfied with his conclusion, he counted again. "Annabeth?" He called, causing his wife to turn around. "We have a bit of a problem."

Mrs. Jackson did a head count of her own and frowned. "There are too many people. There are eight of us, and the van can only take seven."

That was a problem. Mr. Jackson wanted me and Felix to come with them, but it appeared like getting Alexis was the only reason they had both come here, instead of just Mrs. Jackson. And they weren't going to leave Abby or Peter.

"I'll stay." Mrs. Richardson said after a long pause. "The camp is no place for mortals anyway, is it?"

"What?" Alexis screeched instantly, clinging to her mothers arm. "No, what are you talking about. What if another of those, those things come. We can't just leave you here."

"Alexis." Mr. Jackson said kindly. "Those monsters won't come for your mother."

"How can you be sure! I'm positive those kind of things have happened before. Freaks have shown up, and we've only just gotten away." I thought about her words, and suddenly I was flooded with memories. Strange people watching us. Following us. Those times where we nearly die, in ways that are just too, _convenient_. But those times never happened to me, unless I was with Alexis, Abby or Peter. I had always just dismissed it as bad luck, but maybe...

"Alexis, monsters aren't after your mother. They're after you."

"Huh?" Alexis said, her face uncomprehending. Considering the circumstance, the choice of words seemed rather appropriate. Alexis turned to see the sad face of her mother, gently nodding up and down. "Why are they after me?"

"Alexis." Mrs. Richardson interrupted, sadness clearly upon her face. "You don't have much time. Just please, go with the Jackson's. They'll explain everything to you when you arrive at the camp."

"But mom-"

"Please, honey." Mrs Richardson interrupted. "This is hard enough. Just go. And be safe."

Tears formed in the pits of Alexis's eyes, but she nodded. I knew this had to really be hard for her. Alexis never cried: she was too tough for that. She may act like a lady, but she wasn't afraid to knock your head in if you annoyed her. This just wasn't like her. I wanted to help, but I couldn't think of anything to do. She just went and got in the back of the van with Abby and Peter.

"Come on, Raymond." Mr. Jackson said, gesturing for me to get in the van. "It's a long drive from here to Long Island."

Thinking of nothing else I could do, I got in the van next to Felix. The last thing we saw as we drove away was Mrs. Richardson watching us go, framed by the wall of fire. A small sob sounded behind me, but no one said a word.

****

Driving from the cost of California to the nearest airport and flying to New York to take a drive to Long Island? A long time. Skipping the whole air plane part of the procedure? Agonizing. The first time an airport rolled into view Peter, Alexis and I raised a little in our seats, but we just drove on by. Apparently Mr. Jackson had something against flying, so we would be driving the whole way, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson alternating driving whenever we stopped for food, gas or bathroom breaks. With us all squeezed in the back seat, with little ventilation and less entertainment, it's needless to say that it wasn't a fun trip.

Even the adults seemed to disagree with their chosen mode of transportation. Not all of it is clear, but one conversation sticks clear in my mind. It was a hushed conversation, as almost everyone was a sleep. But the dreaded world of dreams (or nightmares in my case) eluded me, so I found myself laying there with my eyes closed, unintentionally eavesdropping.

"I still think we should have split up." Mr. Jackson had said, sounding almost worried. "We could have gotten their much faster."

"I still don't think that's a good idea." Mrs. Jackson whispered back. "Even more so now that we have Raymond with us. I know you and Abby could have travelled over your father's domain, and Peter, Alexis, Felix and I could have flown. But what of Raymond. We don't know his parentage. What if we sent your brother into the sky. He would never come down alive!"

He would never come down alive. There was something about Mr. Jackson that meant no air travel. Something that we could share. And it all was determined by one thing: parentage. Something I had never known. But they talked like it was something they didn't _expect_ me to know. And that possibly they could find the answer. If I could find that out... I would do anything to find that out. I still didn't know what was going on, but in that moment I knew one thing for sure: if following this path could help me find out who I was, I would follow it to the end.

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In the interest of adding a chapter before people get really annoyed with me, I think I'll end it right there. Also, as we are approaching camp half-blood, I find myself becoming more and more panicked about all the half-bloods I'm going to have to make. Because I err on the side of laziness and reader-involvement, if anyone has a demi-god they would like to have in this sad little story of mine, please send in the details i.e who they are, what they look like, act like, etc. If there is any I like, I will insert them into the story, as well as giving you full credit for them of course (I like to keep my contact with lawyers to an absolute minimum if I can).


	4. Chapter 4

A thanks to wisegirlindisguise, syfy, Sarra Salmalin, XOlovelyladybugXO, youdon'tknowme123, and MoogleGuy for bravely reviewing my last installment. And a pecial shout out to wisegirlindisuise who for some strange reason decided my pathetic little story deserved more reviews, and thus posted it in her stories. Many thanks! And everyone, please R&R, and enjoy this next installment.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, sadly enough.

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Chapter 4

As I have mentioned, the world of dreams has never really stuck in my mind before. I could catch glimpses of it, and I had a foreboding feeling, but I could never remember it clearly. Which is why this dream freaked me out so much more then any other dream I had ever had. Even to this day, I can remember everything clearly...

Dark skies. The stars shining brightly with the constellations clearly lit. Blood red clouds. A harsh breeze blowing from the south. I stood there, Abby, Peter, and Alexis standing beside me. The grass beneath us stained black-red with blood. We were all cut and bruised and panting heavily. Tiredness griped at my chest. My right arm was mangled and limp, my left severely cut. All four of us were dressed in our normal clothes, or as much was left of the torn and ripped coverings. Alexis held throwing knives, Peter carried a sword and shield of pure bronze, Abby held in her hand a bronze trident. In my good hand I carried a spear made of pure black wood, tipped with a bronze spear-head. And before us stood a shadow, twenty feet tall and twice as long. A single eye, dark red and never blinking. And it was staring directly at me. It opened its mouth, and through the darkness I saw row upon row of teeth, each twice as tall as myself. With a horrible, earth shattering scream, the beast lunged...

****

"Ray? Ray! Yo, Raymond! Wake up!"

A hard slap caught me up the side of the head, and I found myself hanging off the side of the seat, held only by my seat-belt. Felix was looking over me, his hand going back - probably retreating from cuffing me up-side the head.

"What is it." I groaned as I righted myself in my seat. "What's going on?"

"We're nearly at the camp." Mr. Jackson said. He was at the wheel again, and though he seemed relaxed I could here a tension in his voice. "Once we get over the border, we'll be safe. But we have a little problem."

"What?" I asked, leaning forwards.

"Back here, Raymond."

Turning around, I saw Abby, Peter and Alexis all fully awake, starring out the back window. Following their gaze, a small lump formed in my throat.

On the horizon, growing larger by the second, were several black shapes. Even from that distance, I recognized them as animals: they way they lopped as they moved forwards.

"What are they?" I asked, gripping the top of my head rest.

"Hellhounds. A whole pack of them. I was worried this might happen with all of us travelling together. Way too much aura."

"What?"

"I'll explain later." Mr. Jackson took a quick glance in his rear-view mirror, before we felt the van speed up a little. "Alright, these are mythical creatures. There is no way we can out-run them. We just have to reach camp. So, the plan is to get as far as we can in the van, then we break. You will all go with Annabeth to the camp. I'll stay behind and distract the hounds."

"What about you, dad?" Abby said immediately, looking worried. "We can't just leave you."

"Don't worry about your father, honey." Mrs. Jackson said, turning to look back at us. "Trust me, your father can look after himself. We'd just get in his way."

"Hey now! I know the kids aren't trained yet, but last I checked _you_ were quite a decent fighter. What about that little incident with the Laestrygonians seven years ago? Nothing but a shield and bronze sword, completely surrounded and six months pregnant with Jason, and you had three of them finished by the time I got to you. How does that not show your fighting capabilities?"

"If your hoping for me to try and dismiss your compliment with one of my own, you can keep dreaming Seaweed Brain."

Mr. Jackson burst out laughing, causing us to come rather close to having an up-close and personal encounter with the ditch before we returned to our usual location on the road. "Sorry." Mr. Jackson said between fits of laughter. "Wow Annabeth. How long has it been since you called me 'Seaweed Brain'?"

Despite our near-crashing, Mrs. Jackson was smiling like a mad women. "Maybe you should focus on the road."

"I'll take your word for it, Wise Girl."

"Now who's using old nicknames?"

They continued on like that, appearing like they would never stop. And it was then that I realized a startling truth. It had been hinted at through out the trip, but it was only at that moment that I fully realized it: Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were in love. I know what your thinking: 'Well of course they're in love, they got married didn't they?'. But it was more then that. These two argued, bickered, insulted each other, etc. But they would move heaven and earth for each other. This was the definition of love, the kind of thing romantics dreamed of. I knew in that moment that if I even had a fraction of that love with my love (I glanced back at Abby with that train of thought), then I would be a blessed man.

We kept on driving forwards, getting a little faster and faster as we went, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson laughing and reliving older days as they drove on. But the dark shapes behind us were always getting closer and closer. It wasn't long before I began to make out legs. Shortly there-after I could see teeth. Then eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson stopped laughing, becoming more serious. Finally, Mr. Jackson stopped the van and got out.

"Keep driving." He said, taking out his pen. Upon uncapping it, the pen transformed, becoming a shimmering bronze sword. He leaned in and kissed his wife, who had just switched to the driver's seat.

"Come back alive." Mrs. Jackson ordered. Despite her confidence in him earlier, I could hear worry in her voice.

"Haven't I always?" Mr. Jackson responded light-heartily. Then he became serious again. "I'll meet you in camp."

Mrs. Jackson nodded her head, then slammed her foot on the gas.

****

Now we knew what was going to happen: Mr. Jackson was preparing to fight a bunch of hellish beasts to the death. Violence and probably blood would ensure. So naturally, everyone but Mrs. Jackson turned in our seats to watch.

Mr. Jackson was standing in the centre of the road in some sort of fighting stance that had him low to the ground with his blade guarding his face. The hounds were starting to slow down, approaching him with caution. The beasts were huge, the size of rhinos. They all huddled in front of him, preparing to strike. Then the first one leapt at him.

Faster then lightning Mr. Jackson spun and held out his blade, causing the beast to slice itself in two. Before either halve of the beast could touch the ground, they both turned to dust and the next hellhound lunged. Mr. Jackson leapt this time, landing deftly on the beasts back and plunging his blade into its forehead, causing another explosion of monster dust. Then two smarter hounds chose to run past Mr. J and try and catch us. After a grand total of three steps, both beasts fell to the ground, their legs slashed. Two more quick slashes and they joined the growing pile of dust.

Mr. Jackson continued on like a demon. He slashed, they fell. That was all there was to it, in the end. At one point, half-a-dozen hounds leapt over him to come after us. Mr. J simply leaped onto the back of one hound, then leaped to the next, slashing his previous mount as he left it. I realized that Mr. Jackson wasn't really buying us time: he was wiping the hounds out.

Finally there stood only one last hound, barring its teeth as Mr. Jackson resumed his fighting stance. The van had stopped now, and was half-way turned so that Mrs. Jackson could watch. The hound was crouched low, much more weary of its prey then its fallen brethren. Mr. Jackson crept closer, his blade never leaving the safe position in front of his face. Once Mr. J was within arms length of the beast, it lunged, knocking the blade from his hand. Abby gasped in horror, and Peter slammed his fist into his head rest. Mr. J and the hound continued circling each other, but I could see the boldness in the hounds step: it had its prey right where it wanted it. With a mighty leap, the hound dove at Mr. Jackson. But then, it stopped. I leaned in closer, until I could see the scene more clearly.

Mr. Jackson had both of his hands out, holding the mighty beast at bay by its teeth. The hound struggled and flailed, but Mr. Jackson gave no quarter. Then, with a single mighty heave he threw the beast to the ground and pinned it with his foot. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out something bronze. He raised his hand to the top, and suddenly he carried another bronze sword, shimmering in the sun light. With one mighty plunge, the beast was slain.

"How many of those pen-swords do you have?" I inquired, looking over at Mrs. Jackson.

"Oh, fewer then you may think." She answered cryptically, not even bothering to turn around. And even though I couldn't see her face, I could swear I _heard_ the smile on her face.

I returned my attention to the recent battlefield, as Mr. Jackson began running in our direction, his blade hanging at his side. Then he stopped for a moment, then started running, waving his sword in the air.

"Look, he's waving at us." Mrs. Jackson said, having turned her head to watch her husband. She began to wave back, as did Abby. Then a crashing sound was heard, and the world spun.

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There, a nice little cliffie. Aren't I evil?

Anyways, I still need some new Half-Bloods. If you have any ideads, just send me a message, and we'll discuss all the fine details.


	5. Chapter 5

He's baaaaack!

Hey guys, finally got all my ducks aligned, and decided I should post this story before those gangs you hired to come and beat me up found me :P

My long overdue gratitude to those who reviewed my last update: thank you wisegirlindisguise, Sarra Salmalin, syfy, David-El, XOlovelyladybugXO, Jane descendant of Apollo, YourBooksAreMyDrug, and I Judicator for your reviews and occasional question as to my progress. Special call out to wisegirlindisguise, who I owe for many of the views I have received.

R&R, the next part is already half-done!

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Chapter 5

I felt like someone was fooling around with life's 'gravity switch' as we flipped end over end, finishing with a screeching crash several feet from our initial position - upside down, no less. As the dust cleared I found myself suspended from my seat, my hair grazing the ground beneath me. There were several coughs, followed by Mrs. Jackson saying something in a foreign language that had the presence of foul language.

"Is everyone alright?" she called. Her voice was very near. Relief washed over me as replies came discussing minor injuries but otherwise wholeness. I myself piped up about my health despite my current predicament. Everything seemed all right. Then I saw Felix.

Felix's was standing in front of me, his shirt ripped and his jeans torn. Beneath his shirt I saw a chest of thick black-brown hair. Considering that Felix was twelve, you can understand why I was so perplexed by this. Then there were his legs. I always knew Felix had funky legs, because he was crippled. But no human being had those legs. They weren't human. They were goat. One of my best friends was part goat. Seeing as I don't have many friends, you might just understand why I promptly freaked out.

"Dude, what the hell are you?" I shouted, flailing a little in my seat. Then I went rapid-fire. Thing is about rapid fire is sometimes I really don't remember what I said. All I know is that the words 'goat-boy' and 'hairy-legs' came up a lot, along with a few words that I'm pretty sure made Mrs. Jackson want to wash my mouth out with soap. Enough said. Finally when I found myself painting for breath, Felix answered my question with some sort of goat bleat.

"Raymond, I'm not human. I'm a satyr. One of the goat-people."

"Yes yes, very nice." Mrs. Jackson interjected, poking her head around a seat before coming fully into view. Abby, Alexis and Peter were at her heels, openly gawking at Felix. They had a few bumps and cuts, but besides that I was relieved to see them unharmed. "Now, why don't we get to camp before the Laestrygonians who threw the rocks at us decided to pay us a visit?"

Mrs. Jackson turned and began fiddling with one of the doors. I struggled and flailed, but could not dislodge myself from my seat. Everything was starting to turn as fuzzy as Felix's legs do to all the blood rushing to my head. "A guys? I regret to inform you that I am stuck, and likely don't have long until the displacement of my blood leaves me incapacitated." Felix, Alexis and Abby all wore their usual puzzled looks for when I started using more complicated words, while Peter looked moderately concerned.

Mrs. Jackson fiddled with the door a little more before giving up while straightening herself, causing her head to bang against the floor-turned-roof, letting that same foreign curse-word escape her lips. "We do not have time for this. Peter," She jerked her thumb at the door, "Get that open. Felix," She pointed at the window as she moved towards the back of the van. "Tell me how close the Laestrygonians are. Alexis," Suddenly, a small bronze dagger was in Mrs. J's hand. Then, without a single qualm or hesitance, she handed the blade to Alexis. "Cut Raymond free. Abby, come with me. We don't have much time."

With that Mrs. Jackson and Abby disappeared into the back of the van, where the sound of bags shifting and metal clanging reached my ears. Peter started to fiddle with the door, then gave up and began to kick it out. Alexis came up next to me and quickly severed my seatbelt, causing me to fall face-first onto the roof-turned-floor. It was rather painful, but still a relief considering I was starting to lose feeling in my legs. Alexis dragged me to my feet just as Abby and Mrs. J returned from the back. Abby was carrying Alexis's, Peter's and her own bags of luggage. She tossed Felix his and my own. On the other side of the coin, Mrs. Jackson had two bags that must have belonged to her and her husband. She also had a bronze sword in her right hand and a large polished bronze shield in her left. She looked like some sort of soccer mom warrior princess.

She moved behind Peter and gently moved him aside with her shield. Then she slammed that same shield into the door, sending the helpless piece of metal flying. She, Peter and Abby went outside, and all of them promptly screamed.

Rushing outside I saw all three of the other Jackson's against the van's side, with Mrs. Jackson pointing her trembling sword at the rock that the van was wedged against whilst her children huddled at her side. Looking to the rock, I saw a small black dot right where Mrs. Jackson was pointing. I couldn't believe it. I knew Peter and Abby were, but Mrs. J?

"Sp-Sp-Spider!" Mrs. Jackson screamed, waving her sword a little at the small arachnid. "Kill it! Kill it!"

Sighing, I moved towards the boulder, scooping my hands. "I'm not gonna kill the little guy." I said scoldingly. "I'll just get rid of him." I reached over and pushed the little guy into my hands. Abby and Peter were deathly afraid of the little guys, but I kind of liked them. They were patient and intelligent hunters, always ready to snag their prey. Felix and Alexis just squished them, and I didn't want that to happen to this little dude. I moved to put him on the other side of the rock, but then I saw him. My first Laestrygonian.

It was horrendous. The creature stood about seven feet tall, with fists the size of small boulders. Its face was a grotesque mess of flesh, bone and hair, and its body was a wall of muscle, decorated with intricate, and sometimes comical tattoos. The monster wore a large loincloth as his only clothing. In his hand he carried a plain wooden spear with a wicked bronze tip. I was so startled by the thing that I clenched my fists against my will, causing a wetness to spread through my right hand. Looking down, I saw the remains of the spider I had tried to save.

I just stood there for who knows how long, just staring at my hand. Then reality called me back in the form of a spear hurtling towards my face.

I will be straight with you: to this day I still don't really know how to describe what happened next. It was like everything was going in slow-motion, and only I was aware of it. My body felt like it was on fire and in danger of freezing at the same time. I could clearly feel every muscle in my body, and could see as each moved in the Laestrygonian. And the air: it was almost as though I could see as the air moved, breaking in the wake of the spear. And then, I was on the ground, a few feet away from where I was before, and time resumed flowing as normal. I watched as the spear flew harmlessly through the spot where my head had been. I didn't even remember dodging. It was surreal.

Then Mrs. Jackson was charging foreword, her shield held out in front of her. The Laestrygonian swung his boulder fist directly at Mrs. J's shield, but she moved it at the last moment like a bull fighter, causing the fist to sail harmlessly beside her. Then 'Slash!' the blade sails clean through the outstretched arm. The Laestrygonian roared with pain, but Mrs. J silenced him with a powerful thrust through the giant's abdomen, causing him to erupt into dust.

"We have to go now." Mrs. J shouted, hefting her shield up as if preparing for a fight. Then again, i suppose she was. She turned towards the others as they arrived behind her, then laid her shield out flat before her. Suddenly, on the polished surface of the shield, lay the entire field around us. We were nothing but six spots on a sea of green. Laestrygonians surrounded us on all sides, and Mr. J was cutting a path towards us from the road. But he was still so far away. Mrs. Jackson clicked her tongue in annoyance then prepared her shield once more. "Alright, we can't wait for Percy: he's too far away. So we run. Who's the slowest?"

We all shuffled awkwardly at this question, none of us willing to accuse anyone. But gradually, our glances turned to Felix. Mrs. Jackson saw this, the stabbed her blade into the ground and withdrew from her back pocket a small, really beat up Yankees' ball cap. She looked it over, then handed it to Felix, along with all the bags. "You use that to sneak in. The rest of us will run for it. We'll split into groups. We need to get over that hill" She gestured off to our right with her sword. "Alexis, Peter, you two go for it from the right side. Alexis, keep the dagger, and if anything other than Peter gets too close, stick them with it. Abby, Raymond, you go from the left. You two are fastest, right? Don't stop running until you're on the other side of that hill. I'll go and try and cut a path to Percy: try and draw them off. Understand?" We all nodded, steeling ourselves for the run. I was worried about Felix: it just seemed illogical to laden the slowest of us with all the luggage. Then, as I turned to look at him, Felix put the cap on, and vanished. I stood there gaping, about to say something when Mrs Jackson shouted for us to run. Abby grabbed my arm and pulled me, and we began to run.

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Thought that since it has been so long since my last update, it would be best to just end it here and post the rest later.

Hope the chapter was decent. Remember the spider: it may some significance later ;)


	6. Chapter 6

And here is the next instalment, in fairly decent time I might add :P

Thank you XOlovelyladybugXO and jahfreenalam for reviewing the last chapter.

Now, I write these stories because I enjoy sharing my little brain children with the people of the world (or at least the internet people of this site). But I kinda feel like no one is reading it. So I think I'm gonna aim for at least having 35 reviews all told before I post my next chapter. Please, it's just a bit of a confidence boost if I know someone is reading it, even if the review is just a couple of insults. So please, R&R

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

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Chapter 6

There are a few things in the world that I truly love: A well-constructed rant, a thought-out story, a well done video game, Abby's hugs/smiles/ect, and running.

There is just something about the sensation of running that puts joy in my soul. The sheer **power** in it. The feeling of the muscles in my legs dragging them to the front, the clap of my feet pushing against the ground, the wind whipping my hair, the momentum dragging me ever-forward – ecstasy. We humans may not be the fastest runners on the planet, but we put a lot of strength into our run. It reminds me of what I'm truly capable of. Also, the fact that I'm rather good at it is a bit of a bonus. Abby may be in track, and all that swimming has made her legs pretty strong, but I was always just a bit faster. And so I began to pull away as we approached the hill top. Then something happened.

I began to pick up speed. And it wasn't just the normal addition of momentum. I was gaining speed at an astronomical rate. All of my studies and knowledge of physics (which was rather high, considering I was only twelve) told me what was happening was impossible. But it happened none-the-less. My body went into that hyper-sensitive state again. I was once more aware of every detail around me: from the movement of my legs, to the air pushing against me, and the shouts of the monsters about me. Spears whipped past my ears, but still I ran. Arms reached out for me, but I ducked under them and ran on. Boulders landed before me, but I simply swerved and the running continued. The top of the hill seemed to leap forward to embrace me. I was almost there. I was levelling out, reaching the top. The hill started to curve down...

And then I hit a wall.

The wall was both hard and soft at the same time. It felt like I had run straight into a brick wall, but without as much pain. At the impossible speed I had been running, a brick wall would have shattered every bone in my body. It still hurt, but more like a bully had picked me up a slapped me against the wall, instead of me propelling towards it. Either way I soon found myself lying on the ground and seeing little birds circling around my head. Well, figuratively so. Abby was at my side in seconds, helping me to my feet. Shouts and spears carried past us as we moved forward, only to hit the invisible wall once again. Except Abby didn't hit the wall. She passed right through.

"What's going on?" I shouted, pounding my fist against the invisible field. There was stomping behind me. The Laestrygonians were closing in. Abby reached through the wall and tried to pull me through, only for me to be smushed up against said wall.

"Why can't you get through?" Abby screeched in my ear as she pulled and pulled. Finally the front of my shirt tore and we fell, each on our respected sides. Looking out I saw the monsters hefting there spears. I had already seen a few of those things go through. Apparently the only things that the barrier stopped were monsters and Raymonds.

I quickly rolled to my feet and stood with my back to the barrier, crouching low so I could run. "Abby, get going." I shouted over my shoulder. "I'll find a way in."

Abby began the traditional rebuttal – no, I won't leave you, this is crazy, ect. – but I ignored her and began to run alongside the wall, my left hand stretched out to feel for a place where I could pass. I could feel the ground shutter beneath from the footsteps of my pursuers. Ahead of me I could see Peter and Alexis running on the other side of the big tree and hedge. One of the Laestrygonians was blocking their path, but Alexis ran straight at it, raising her dagger. Then in a flash of bronze the dagger flew through the air and pieced the giant's chest, causing it to erupt into dust. Scooping up the dagger as she passed it, she and Peter disappeared behind the hedge, right passed the barrier. Yep, only me.

The hedge seemed like a pretty safe bet for me. It was huge, completely encircling the oak tree that stood at the center of the hill. Also the giants seemed to be giving it wide berth. I realize now that that really should have been my first warning, but hey I was twelve. I don't care what my test scores say, being twelve still leaves room for mistakes. It wasn't until I was about twenty feet away that I noticed how solid the hedge looked, or that it was a rather strange shade of green, or the smoke curling up from the other side as the sides expanded and contracted. And then the beast rose.

I had a sudden flash-back to my dream the night before as the beast rose before me. But no, it wasn't the same. This beast wasn't the size of a city, more like a bus. And whereas the thing in my dream had but a single blood red eye, this beast had two golden eyes like small spotlights that bored into the darkest recess of my mind. The serpent's head slithered slowly through the air towards me, its tongue darting out in time to the steam. I found myself paralyzed with fear. And just clarify, I am no coward. And until you have stood face-to-face with a fourteen foot serpent I don't want to hear any smart remarks.

A loud shout of triumph behind me brought me back to my senses. There were other things then the super snake trying to kill me. I knew enough about snakes to know that if I made any sudden movements the thing would strike. I had to wait until the time was right. The ground began to shake more violently as my pursuers came closer and closer...

With more speed than I thought I had I dropped to the ground, just as two monstrous mitts reached out to smash me. The movement caused the snake to lunge, but instead of a maw full of me, it got a maw full of Laestrygonian, which I had a feeling was rather unpleasant for both parties. Pushing myself to my feet as quickly as I could, I ran in the only direction I could think of: straight at the coils of the great serpent.

Many names have been given to what I did next. Among them, the most popular have been 'coil surfing', 'snake sliding', and 'failed suicide pact'. As the serpent coughed up some monster dust and turned to deal with the tastier morsel, I leaped in between two of the monsters massive coils, using the slick snake-skin to slide through without pause. I landed on all fours on the other side- which turned out to be more snake coils. Hearing the hiss of the beast behind me, I charged towards the mass of snake, leaping through a small hole between two more coils. In mid leap I reached up and grabbed a low-hanging coil and swung myself sideways, narrowly sliding through an ever-diminishing gap. More of the snake circled around and tried to crush me from above, but I ran and hit the ground base-ball style, just sliding out from under yet another coil and into fresh air. Turning about, I saw the head of the beast wriggle out from the hole I had just escaped. And then it showed me why smoke curled out from its mouth.

A blast of fire shot right over me as I fell to the ground in shock- which ironically is what saved my life. The flames licked tongues of scorching heat against me as they flew overhead, incinerating a few giants who had rushed to take care of my disorientation. Once more forcing myself to my feet, I ran for the other side of the tree as the serpent un-wound itself. I felt the barrier once more, and looked down to see my friends all gathered partly down the hill – even Felix was there, holding the Yankees ball cap in his hands, twisting it nervously. I pushed once more, but the wall gave no quarter. Looking back, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Jackson coming up towards me, hacking and slashing through the endless sea of giants. Finally they arrived beside me, Mrs. J immediately covering me with her shield as Mr. J fought off another attack.

"Why haven't you gone through?" Mrs. Jackson asked, managing a surprisingly calm voice. Mr. J came up within earshot, but did not turn away from the encroaching enemies.

"I can't." I responded, feeling helpless. "There is some sort of wall." The Jacksons exchanged quick looks. I had seen that look way too often: a disturbing mixture of worry and pity. It made me kinda angry. "Maybe Felix is right." I spat, bitterness overcoming my usual manners. "Maybe I don't belong in there."

"Nah, it's happened before." Mr. J said light heartedly. "That Hecate kid last year who was so convinced she was mortal that the barrier worked for her."

"How did she get in?"

"Well, she didn't. She was killed by hellhounds on this side of the barrier. We learned who she was when her mother picked up her body."

I swallowed nervously. "Let's not follow her example, shall we?" I tried to sound brave, but it came out a squeak.

Mr. J laughed. "Don't worry – unlike her, you have campers with you." Then he straightened up and looked directly at me. "I Perseus Jackson, give you, Perseus Jackson, permission to enter the camp. Man that was weird to say."

As soon as he finished the sentence, I fell through the barrier. It was like it had never been there. It was almost comical. I probably would have laughed, if it weren't for a spear landing right next to my ear. It was just like the Laestrygonians were mocking me. I absolutely **hated** getting mocked. With sudden rashness and stupidity that best fit people a few years older than me, I stood up and grabbed the spear.

This time the super sense came slightly differently. Unlike the others where I had been aware of all that was around me, this time I was aware of all that was _away_ from me. My sense of hearing became downright phenomenal. I could hear an insect beating its wings, without even seeing the bugger. I could hear –_ hear_ – the muscle movements of the giants as they lumbered towards me in slow-mo. The experience was unnerving, and almost painful. It was like someone had finally found the world remote and turned up the volume just when we were getting used to the low setting. Then suddenly my sight bumped up to. Suddenly I could see that insect landing on that blade of grass all the way back at the van. I could see the tension in the Laestrygonian's movements. And I could see the wind. I could see where it danced, where it was strongest, and where it parted all-together. That's where I aimed. With all my twelve-year-old strength, I threw the spear.

The sucker flew! The spear spun through the air with such force that even as I came out of my hyper sense I could swear I still saw the wind trail behind it. The strong shaft of wood eventually curved down and pierced right threw a Laestrygonian, disintegrating it instantly. Behind it, we saw my spear bury itself almost completely into the ground, until only about half-a-foot of spear was left above the ground.

I stood there, standing and openly gaping at my own handiwork. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up to see Mr. J staring at the place my spear had all but disappeared. "Nice throw. But we better keep moving."

And though I did not know it at the time, as I turned my back on the army behind me, I turned my back on my old life. And I entered my new life at Camp Half-Blood

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Woot! Done. Now I can finally get to the part I've been really wanting to write.


	7. Chapter 7

And he has returned! I apologize for my prolonged absence. After the announcement of the 'Lost Hero', I had temporarily lost the drive to write, as my story will be as if the other had never happened. But after a bit of incouragment from my friends, I have returned. Hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. 'Nuff said, really.

My gratitude to Cman730, Aanaleigh, Naie Masen Cullen, jahfreenalam and XOlovelyladybugXO. Special thanks to wisegirlindisguise for that extra publicity. If you didn't come here from her stories, check them out. They are all kinds of win.

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Chapter 7

Camp Half Blood was a dream come true. Well, not really, since all my dreams are horrendous nightmares, but you know what I mean.

At first glance it looked like an ordinary old summer camp: A large building at the base of the hill, a river running through with a lake in the center, a volleyball court, strawberry fields, and an arts and crafts area. Then things got cool. Archery ranges, an arena and amphitheatre, a climbing wall in the distance that seemed to move! I could see a mess hall that appeared rather Greek in origin. And the cabins! All seemed varied and amazing, each having its own unique theme. I wanted to rush there first, but we were steered instead towards the house at the end of the hill.

The big house was a large, two story building painted a bright shade of red. A weathered bronze eagle stood at the top of one of the corners looking down at us, clearly signalling the direction of the wind. (It was north that day, if you really want to know) As we approached the patio in the front of the building I caught a faint smell of pressed grapes before the wind blew it from my nose. On the patio sat two middle-aged men playing a game of cards. On one side was a man with thinning grey-brown hair and a scruffy beard. He was sitting in a wheel chair, wearing a white tee-shirt and blue-jeans. Across from him was a small and porky man with a Rudolf-Red nose and big watery eyes that practically screamed 'this man drinks alcohol'. Atop his head was incredibly dark hair that looked almost purple if you looked at the right angle.

As we approached them the man in the wheelchair turned to us and smiled, waving his hand towards us, while his companion's eyes never left the table. Mr. Jackson moved ahead waving as he approached. When the rest of us hesitated Mrs. Jackson gave us a little nudge and we approached. As we stepped onto the porch a strange sensation fell over me. It was an unnerving sensation that seemed to remind me of how weak and insignificant I really was. I felt dizzy for a second, and I had to grab the railing to balance myself, doing my best to make it look like I merely wanted to lean on the rail and look cool. The two men continued their game for a minute while we all shuffled onto the porch, until finally the wheelchair guy turned and looked at us. He smiled at Mr. and Mrs. Jackson like an old friend who hadn't seen them in a long time. Then he turned towards Abby, Peter and Alexis, nodding expectantly at each of them as if he had known they were coming. Then he turned to Felix and finally spoke.

"Well done Felix. You seem to have gotten everyone here more-or-less intact." He smiled once more, as if laughing at a joke only he knew. I liked the man the moment he spoke. There was something in his voice that radiated a wisdom and trust-worthiness that could not be put into words. He turned as if to speak to Mr. and Mrs Jackson when his eyes rested on me. A quick look of surprise darted across his face before being swallowed by his kind and professional look. "Apparently you did even better than we thought."

"That is debatable" The other man grumbled, not looking from his cards. "The last thing we need is another brat to look after around here." The man took a quick look at the table, before a smile burst across his face. He shouted "Ha!" before laying down his hand triumphantly. The man in the wheelchair looked at the hand his opponent had laid down before casually placing his own down.

"I believe that is a full 1500 to your 1000, Mr. D. The game is mine."

The pudgy man began to curse... or so I believe, as I did not understand what he was saying. It sounded like more of the language that Mrs. Jackson had uttered in the van. Anyway, the man began to curse and swear, but it seemed only vocal: his face remained calm, as if he was used to being beaten. Finally he raised his hand casually, as if holding a glass. Then, suddenly, he was holding something: a can of diet coke. It was as if it had formed out of the air around him. Casually bringing it down and popping the top, he brought the can to his lips and took a sip, before sighing and placing it on the table. A quick glance around me saw that while Peter, Abby, Alexis and myself had the logical looks of bewilderment, Felix and the rest all seemed unfazed by this amazing display, to the point where the man in the wheelchair didn't even look up from shuffling the deck.

"Well, Percy, Annabeth, how much have you told them" Mr. Wheelchair asked, looking up and into the Jackson's eyes.

"Nothing a mortal wouldn't know, Chiron" Mr. Jackson said, stepping towards the table. "We figured it would be easier to explain things here at camp. Makes it much more believable."

The man, Chiron, nodded at this. "Fair enough Percy. But I am to assume they at least know the basics?" He turned to look at Peter, Abby, Alexis and me, all standing around each other.

"Peter and Abby know." Mrs. Jackson added, looking at her children. "We taught them ourselves. And Alexis' mother told me she taught her what she could. We don't know about Raymond, though." Suddenly the adults, and Felix, were all staring at me, as if waiting for me to answer. Even the pudgy old man seemed to be paying a bit of attention, though his eyes never left the cards in Chiron's hands.

"Well, Raymond, do you know anything about Greek Mythology?" Chiron asked, his steady gaze never leaving me. The air around us seemed to be waiting in anticipation for my answer. I took a look around, reading other people's opinions before I nodded.

"Yeah, I know a fair amount. It's a fascinating subject. But what about it?"

"Bah, each brat is worth then the last." The pudgy man grumbled, still looking at the cards as they were dealt "Not knowing about history, not knowing about proper games, not knowing anything! I don't know why we bother."

"Don't you Mr. D?" Mr. Jackson piped up, looking mock-curious. "I thought you might remember something about it."

"Yeah." Mrs. Jackson chimed in as well, smiling at her husband. "Wasn't there something about you, a wood-nymph, and a very angry father?"

Mr. D cursed, looking angrily at the two of them. "I remember myself valiantly fighting, and then promised compensation by having my sentence reduced to fifty years! Where's that?"

"Well, if you count the years, Mr. D..." Mr. Jackson started, before cutting himself off and smiling mischievously at Mr. D"

"Ahem" Chiron interrupted, sternly looking at Mr. And Mrs. Jackson. "If we can get back on topic..." His gaze turned to the four of us again. "As I was saying, you all know a fair amount about Greek Mythology right? Well, what if we told you that those stories you heard weren't stories? What if we told you that the forces you refer to as the Greek gods actually existed?" Chiron stopped and looked at us expectedly.

A pause filled the air as we both waited for the other to speak. After nearly a minute of silence, I turned and met eyes with my friends, before stepping forward and looking directly into those kind eyes. "well sir, if I had to answer to that, I would say that is B.S. If Greek mythology was real, and the gods were real, then our whole world would be different. People would get smote down before they could react, people of superior abilities would appear all over the world, and, of course, we would see more of the creatures, like the sirens, the hydra and the centa-" I broke my sentence off their. Mostly because as I spoke, Chiron began to try and lift himself out of his chair. The thing is, only half of him came. As I watched he seemed to pull himself out of his legs, pushing himself forward as he did. Soon another set of legs appeared from their apparent hold. Then another pair of legs. Horse legs. I slowly pivoted my head upwards because soon enough, I found myself staring up and the mighty form of a centaur.


	8. Chapter 8

Well, this is embarrassing. I actually forgot about this story. I've had this chapter hidden away on my computer for like a year now. Oops.

Well, thank you to those who reviewed my story: Saffa, Knisley24, Kaleidoscope Heavens, Nerdy Athletic, allyalexandra1999, and especially Percy Jackson, whose recent review reminded me about this story! Thanks to those who read but did not review.

So yeah, don't own PJO or anything that Rick wrote.

Enjoy the long over-due chapter! Hopefully I'll be more attentive this time.

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"No way." I said, staring at the great horse-man before me. "No freaking way." This was too much. I mean, the Laestrygonian's were one thing. A genetic alteration. And the hellhounds, a dangerous breed of dog. But a centaur took all my science and world knowledge and tossed it off the side of the earth. It shouldn't be possible. And the fact that he had just pulled himself out of a container that was able to hold things bigger then itself... I just couldn't wrap my head around it. I wanted to believe it was all a dream, even knowing that I didn't dream things like this. And that pounding in my head was no figment of my imagination. This was real.

"Yo-you're a..." Alexis stuttered behind me, pointing at the centaur, mostly focusing on the horse-end. This defiantly wasn't like Alexis. She was usually so confident. It was the main reason she had become the un-official leader of our group.

"A centaur, dear. The proper term is a centaur." Chiron said kindly. "I am the Chiron from the stories, the teacher of heroes."

No one said anything. We all just stared, completely lost for words. Finally, Abby stepped forward, and looking directly at Chiron, said "so you're a horse-man? Does that mean you ride yourself when you want to go faster?"

Absolute silence. Then Mr. And Mrs. Jackson, Chiron, and even Mr. D all burst out laughing. I looked at Peter, who just stared back at me and shrugged. If we didn't get it, it was obviously more for an older audience.

After the adults had settled down, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson led us to a group of cabins. There were 26 cabins, with the foundations for more already laid out. Each had a bronze number on it, with the first twelve forming a 'U' shape in front of a beautiful commons area filled with Greek statues and fountains and such. The other cabins extended out in lines from the ends of what we would come to refer to as the 'original' cabins, making the shape more similar to that of the Greek letter Omega. Each cabin itself was obviously built with a different theme involved, making each a unique structure. Cabin 1 was a huge building carved out of marble, with symbols of lightning and the permanent rumble of thunder emitting from it. Cabin 4 had a grass roof and seemed to almost be woven out of stalks of wheat and grain. Cabin 5 was spattered with blood-red paint and topped with a barbed-wire fence. Cabin 10 was life-sized Barbie-house smelling of expensive perfume. Cabin 14 shimmered with multiple colours, almost like it had been dipped in a rainbow. All in all, the site was amazing. The only thing that was really perplexing was the distribution of kids amongst the cabins. Some were overflowing like Cabin 7, Cabin 10 and Cabin 15, yet some were completely empty, like Cabins 1, 2, 3, and 8.

"The Cabins each represent a different God or Goddess" Mrs. J explained to us as we passed by. "That decides both how the cabin is built, and who lives in the cabin. The only exceptions are cabin's 25 and 26.

"How does it work, then?" I asked, looking up at her. "Why are there so many in some cabins, and none in others? And what's different about Cabin's 25 and 26?" I looked at the two cabins mentioned. They were slightly out of line from the rest of the cabins, facing each other from opposite ends of the omega. Neither of those cabins seemed to have anything extraordinary about them.

"Those are the unassigned and un-placable." Mr. J responded, looking down at 26 with an almost pitying look.

Well, that told me absolutely nothing. "Alright. And the rest? How are the divided."

"By your godly parent, of course."

I stopped right there. No, it wasn't possible. "You know who my parents were?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson and the rest of our little group turned to look at me, framed by the golden light coming from cabin 7. Abby, Alexis and Peter looked confused, but Mr. and Mrs. J, as well as Felix, had looks on their faces as if they were expecting this.

"We don't know for sure, Raymond." Mr. J's voice infuriatingly gentle, reminding me of those at 'Good Smiles.' "But you can see through the mist. That means you're one of us. A Half-Blood. Part human, part God."

No one from our group said a word, the faint noise from the campers around us making our own silence seem deafening. No one moved. We barely breathed as we processed this. Not only were we to believe that the god's and goddess's existed, now we had to believe that they were our parents.

"And what about me?" Alexis asked at last, looking up at Mr. Jackson. "You said I was powerful. You talked with my mother as if you knew… as if you could tell me who my father was."

Mr. Jackson turned towards her. He nodded silently, as strangely grim look upon his face.

"I can, Alexis, but I'm not sure if I should. The gods are supposed to claim their children before their thirteenth birthday, but the timing is up to them. And your father is quite fond of… appropriate timing for these things." He opened his mouth as if to say more, than stopped, closing his mouth to form a smile. "And apparently there is no better timing then this."

For spinning above Alexis's head was a hologram; electric blue, and shaped like a fist holding a lightning bolt.

"Alexis Richardson, daughter of Zeus, King of Olympus, Lord of the Sky, Master of Lightning. We hail the daughter of the King of the Gods."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Don't own PJO, unfortunately.

Thanks to Iheartbd's, eli bellie, and imawordbender for reviewing the last chapter. Any feedback (really, any at all) is greatly appreciated. Please R&R and enjoy.

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I lay back on my new bed, my bag tucked safely beneath it while my mind raced. Gods. Goddesses. Centaurs. Satyrs. Magic. Half-Bloods. It was all too much for me. My friends were changed before my very eyes. The daughter of Zeus. The Satyr. The descendants of Poseidon and Athena. And me: the unknown, to be tucked safely away in Cabin 25 until someone claims me.

I sighed, rolling out my bed barely a minute after I first laid down. Five minutes felt like an hour. They wanted to get Alexis settled into her cabin, while Percy and Annabeth dropped off their stuff at the big house (apparently they didn't use the cabins anymore, due to their positions as senior instructors.) They never said where Peter and Abby were going to live. And there was me, selecting my own little spot in Cabin 25, waiting for everyone else to get settled in so they could come back and get me.

Cabin 25 was a nice enough place. It had a very tidy, cleaned appearance about it, with all of the beds freshly made with white linens, and all the bed-side desks clean and polished. There was a curtain that could be drawn across the middle of the cabin, separating the boys on the left and the girls on the right. The curtain was almost never drawn, due to the fact that people joined and left this cabin so often that it would just be a problem. It was because of this fact that I could see both of my cabin mates. Lana, a shy, dark-haired seven year old was sitting on the edge of her bed, swinging her legs back and forth as she twirled a coin through her fingers. She kept glancing up at me and turning away quickly. I pretended not to notice so she didn't feel embarrassed.

My other cabin mate was Ellie, the leader of our cabin. She couldn't have been a day older than me, yet I knew at a glance she could hand me my butt on a silver platter. She had very straight, shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair that was just the perfect shade to display her naturally pale skin. Her eyes were a dark, chocolaty brown that seemed completely impenetrable. She wore camouflage shorts and a beat-up denim jacket which lay over her orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. She was lying on her bed with her feet propped up at the other end. In her hands she had a whetstone which she was drawing over a bronze dagger with a fascinated, almost loving look on her face.

I focused on the blade. Like all the weapons I'd seen recently, the blade was made from bronze, and the edge was visibly sharp – though that might have something to do with Ellie's tender care. I myself had always liked the idea of weaponry as the truest display of man's adaptation to situations, but had never held a true weapon before. Ellie must have seen something of that in my face when she glanced up, for she smiled at once. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

I couldn't help but grin at the adoring tones she put into her voice. "It is certainly impressive." I responded, making a meaningless gesture towards the blade.

Ellie's smile broadened as she raised the blade up towards the light. "Celestial Bronze." She announced, giving the blade a quick shake. "Forged for the sole purpose of destroying monsters. Doesn't work on mortals either, which is a good thing. No need to accidentally kill someone when you're exhausted out on a quest and don't know friend from foe."

"Definitely convenient." I responded, more so to keep the conversation going than anything else. "So, how long have you been at camp?"

In response, Ellie reached for her neck and pulled out a strange necklace with five painted clay beads on it. "A bead for every summer. I've been here five years and my mother still hasn't claimed me."

I tried to find something to say, but failed to find anything sympathetic that didn't seem like one of those simple and un-meaning responses. So instead, I brought my voice towards a quieter, more serious tone. "So, you know it's your mom, then? The god, I mean?"

"Goddess, in this case." was the wry response. "And yeah, it's her. I knew my dad well enough."

"What was he like?"

"He bled fairly well."

My eyes went wide at her casual response. He bled well. Did that mean she…? to her own father…?

Ellie laughed. "Oh, I love seeing how people react when I say that. I'm joking. I didn't kill my dad. He was just a drunk who decided I was the cause of all bad things in the world." She shrugged at this, as if she was quite fine with it, though I noticed the grip on her dagger tighten. "Ran away when I was only 4. Spent a couple years out on my own before I finally ran into a satyr and the half-blood he was accompanying. Made it to camp from there. Spent the last 5 years in this wonderful place." She said with a wild gesture from her hand and sarcasm in her voice. "It's been a nice enough home, though I'm told it feels like a hotel room. Also your cabin mates don't tend to last long. Lana here arrived just yesterday, probably will be claimed within the week. Same as you, likely, though you might be like me. Second longest stay in cabin 25!" She proclaimed, once more with sarcastic pride, before laughing at her own joke.

I chuckled along with her. "So, who was the longest resident of this fine cabin?"

I knew immediately I asked the wrong question. Ellie stopped laughing immediately and slid her blade across the whetstone with far more force than was necessary, to the point where I began to wonder if she would break the blade. "Just a guy here. He's in cabin 26 now."

From her tone, I knew the subject was closed. Breathing in a few times in the awkward silence, I looked up at her again and waited for the grip to lessen on her blade before asking my next tentative question. "So, how do the gods decide when to claim their kids, or whatever?"

Ellie shrugged again. "Depends on the god or goddess, though they tend to have a flair for dramatic reveals. The evening bonfire. Fourth of July fireworks. The centaur prom. Things like that."

"What about just when one of the senior campers is talking about children getting claimed?"

"Depends on the senior camper."

"Percy Jackson."

Ellie raised an eyebrow at me. "Yeah, that would do it. Greatest hero since Hercules. Some say greatest hero ever, though they tend to prefer to wait until Lord Zeus is busy. But he's not teaching in camp this year. It's Annabeth's turn."

"They're both here."

Ellie stopped sharpening her blade and turned to me. "Seriously?"

I raised an eyebrow at her before nodding. "Yeah, they were the ones that got me and my friends to camp. They are the parents of two of my friends."

Ellie whistled. "Well, this should be interesting. Percy is the better hero, no doubt about that, but Annabeth is a much better teacher. If they are both here… and you say their kids are here as well?" I nodded. "Man, I don't envy those two. Got a lot to live up to. Anyway, who was the kid claimed when Percy was speaking?"

"My friend Alexis. Daughter of Zeus."

Lana squeaked with surprise and dropped her coin, which rolled off under one of the un-occupied beds. Ellie, who had begun sharpening her blade again, pushed harder than she had intended and drove the blade straight into her mattress.

"Zeus? _Di Immortals_. One of the Big Three? Yeah, I'm not surprised he wanted her to be announced by Percy. Zeus really doesn't like him, but even he can't deny Percy is a damn good hero."

"Is being a child of the Big Three really such a big deal? I mean, in the stories, Zeus and Poseidon weren't exactly… restrained when it came to having kids."

Ellie nodded as she worked her blade from the mattress. "Well, none of the gods were very – restrained, was it? – yeah. You just heard about Zeus and Poseidon more than the others because their kids were Big Three kids. In other words, they had power we average half-bloods couldn`t dream of." She finally wrenched the blade from the mattress, causing stuffing to fly out across the cabin. Glancing at the mess some-what sheepishly, she turned to face me, immediately locking my gaze with her own. "I`ve met four Big Three kids in my life. And all of them are on a different level from everyone else. They aren`t the best at everything – seriously, never stand near Percy when he has a bow – but they are powerful. And they are dangerous."

I looked into those chocolate brown eyes, seeking out the answer to a question I didn't want to ask. "…are you saying I should be afraid of one of my closest friends?"

The silence in the room was so thick it seemed hard to breath. Lana had abandoned all pretense of being otherwise occupied and was just staring at us, waiting. Ellie kept her gaze locked with mine, and I had the uncomfortable notion that she was weighing me. But I was determined not to break first.

Finally Ellie spoke, still not moving her eyes from mine. "I'm saying that power is a very dangerous thing in the world of a Half-Blood. Especially if that power isn't your own."

Finally a knock sounded at the cabin door and we forced our eyes away as I rose to meet my friends.

"We don't have a lot of time left today, just enough for one class." Mrs. Jackson was saying as she led us away from Cabin 25.

"There are a few going on right now, so you can choose which one you want to go to." Mr. Jackson piped in as we exited the commons area. "We have wrestling, rock climbing,"

"Smithing, crafting," Mrs. Jackson picked up.

"Racing, Canoeing," Mr. Jackson seemed to put a lot of enfaces on the last one.

"And archery."

Mr. Jackson shuddered at the last, moving slightly towards the lake before turning around to face us. "So, any preferences? I take it you'll all want to do your first activity together before you head off to your cabins?"

We turned to each other, trying to think of a good choice without speaking. We did this sometimes back in school, where it usually came down to one of the group electing the chosen activity. Slowly, we all turned towards Peter, who pointed off towards the archery range. Mr. Jackson groaned, while Mrs Jackson smirked at her husband's discomfort.

"All right, archery it is." She said brightly, leading us towards a small group at the archery range.

There were about 20 kids already there, none of them older then 13, all milling around uncomfortably. Some of them were talking among themselves, others clutching small bows uncertainly, while others still sat apart from the others, fiddling with various objects. As we joined them, a young man with a bow slung across his back jogged up from the direction of the Big House.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not a very good judge of how a guy is supposed to look. It was never really something I paid much attention to. But looking at this man, there could be no doubt that this was pretty darn close. He was tall, probably in his late teens or early twenties. On his head were layers of thick golden hair that seemed to dance in the sun's light. His face had just enough point to it so as to remove any look of childishness, and his chin had just the slightest hint of facial hair, as if he had recently shaved. His skin had an undeniably perfect tan which was still just pale enough to give him a divine look. He had toned muscles which gave him at once the presence of both great power and flawless grace. Even the calluses on his slim fingers seemed to be perfectly oval so as to not mar his beauty in anyway. And finally, his eyes stood out as a vivid yellow-green, so bright that they seemed to shine with their own light.

"Good afternoon, class." He said. Even his voice seemed too good to be true, like a note of a powerful instrument, not too high so as to be annoying, but not so deep as to be in-comprehensible. I watched with a stab of envy as instantly every girl in the class – including Abby and Alexis – immediately got a dreamy expression across their faces and seemed incapable of tearing their eyes from the teacher. When he flashed his perfect smile over the crowd, some of them even seemed to get weak-kneed. "My name is Alejandro. I will be the instructor at camp for beginner's archery. You are all fairly new to camp, if I'm not mistaken? Most within the last week?" Several campers nodded nervously and he smiled. "Alright then. First of all, I want you all to know that I am a "learn by doing" instructor. Thus, we will begin by seeing if you know which way is front for your bow." He let out a smooth laugh that sounded like a group of string instruments playing in perfect harmony, before gesturing towards the bow rack. "Have at it, then."

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Next chapter we get some epicness, some cool new characters, and more questions for the reader! Yay confusing plot-lines! :P


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to TrustingHim17 for the review of last chapter. Thanks to all who read but did not review. Please R&R, and more importantly, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Don't own PJO.

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"Light grip." Alejandro reminded us as he paced up and down our lines, looking at our profiles as we drew back the string of our bows. "Don't let your feet spread to wide. You want to maintain a center of gravity when firing your bow. Find that center, and then you can shift your stance just fine." I felt him pass behind me as I stared down my arm at the target in front of me, imagining an arrow drawn and ready in my hands. A small stick suddenly pushed at my back, straightening my spine as Alejandro corrected my stance. "Don't bend your spine." He reminded me and the class as he moved to my right where Peter stood with his own bow drawn. "And don't pull the string too hard. Just enough so that you feel the resistance in your upper arms."

I breathed in and pulled my string a little further, until my upper arms began to twitch. I smiled to myself, before exhaling and slowly releasing the tension in the bow. A volley of 'thunks' made me aware that some of the kids on the other side of the line where Alejandro had begun had started to fire arrows. Glancing over, I saw most of them were pretty bad shots. A few were good though, in particular the kid on my left, who muttered a praise to his father Apollo before letting loose three quick bull's-eyes. Turning to my right, I watched as Peter drew his first gold-feathered arrow and lined up a shot.

With a loud 'thunk', his arrow embedded itself half-way through the center ring of the target – the one right before the bull's-eye. A decent shot for a first-time archer. Mrs. Jackson clapped proudly from the stands behind us while Mr. Jackson let out a whoop for his son. Alejandro gave a nod of approval, then turned expectantly to Abby.

It was a good thing Alejandro had quick reflexes. To say Abby was a bad shot would have been generous. Although she had seemed to maintain a decent stance with the trial, the moment she tried to notch one of her blue-feathered arrows, it found itself launched straight up into the sky, where it would have impaled Alejandro on its return had he not leapt out of the way. Mr. Jackson gave her a sympathetic look as she sheepishly put down her bow.

Next up was Alexis. She looked over at Abby's arrow that stood straight up from the ground, as if worried she would somehow manage to top that mess-up. Breathing in, she drew her black arrow.

The change was visible the moment she began to draw back the string. Her stance seemed to steady itself, becoming more firm and upright, shaking off the shackles of doubt. He bow seemed to naturally move towards the target, as if on its own accord, and the arrow slid perfectly into place on the bow with the barest of touches. Then suddenly, it flew through the air with a light crack and buried itself into the dead center of the bull's-eye.

We began to cheer for her then, but she wasn't done. Her hands flew to the quiver strapped to her waist and soon emptied it, firing off arrows one after the other in rapid succession, until all 19 arrows formed a perfect semi-circle overtop the first. Just as the last arrow fired, Alexis rolled forward coming up a few feet ahead on one knee, and the bronze dagger Mrs. Jackson had given her back at the car flashed in her hand. With a clap of thunder and a spark of lightning it too flew through the air, before resting right in the place between the center arrow and the top of the semi-circle.

Everyone was quiet as Alexis knelt there, breathing heavily. Alejandro walked up behind her, admiring her handiwork. "You're the new Big Three kid, aren't you?" He asked as he stopped just behind her, still staring at her slightly-charred target. "Child of Zeus, Lord of the Sky? Anything that flies through the air is yours. It's impressive to see in person."

Alexis blushed fiercely before accepting his hand and being pulled to her feet. Finally, all eyes turned towards me.

A wave of panic accompanied those curious and expectant eyes as they washed over me. I had come here with those three. Alexis was amazing, Peter was talented, and even Abby had messed up in a spectacular way. I knew right then that I would either have to be as good as Peter, better than Alexis, or worse than Abby if I wanted any respect from the other members of my class. Swallowing my nervousness, I drew back my emerald arrow.

The moment my hand released I knew I had messed up. The arrow veered off course, puncturing the target – outside the rings. Not talented. Not spectacular. I immediately felt the eyes begin to leave me. Cursing in frustration, I drew another arrow, lined up the shot, and proceeded to black-out.

The first thing that I felt when I came to was pain. Shortly, that was followed by embarrassment, then painful embarrassment. Had I really just randomly fallen unconscious in the middle of the class? Great, now I would be known as the fainting kid. Sighing in irritation, I opened my eyes to see the Jackson's, Alexis, and Alejandro gazing down at me with worry and… something else. Was that fear?

I groaned as another sharp pain shot through my skull. "Guh, what happened?"

"You don't remember?" One of the boys in the class – the child of Apollo who had been next to me – asked. Alexis offered me her hand and the others backed off to give me room to stand.

"Oh no, I was simply asking to be nostalgic." I responded dryly as I was pulled to my feet. "As a rule of thumb, when someone asks what happened, you can usually take that as a sign that they don't remember." I turned to the class, who had all stopped shooting and were gazing at me, some with confused expressions - likely trying to puzzle out what 'nostalgic' meant – while others looks angry, amused or irritated. But underneath all of those gazes was the same thing I had seen in my friends. "So, what _did_ happen?"

"Well, Raymond," Alejandro began, stepping towards me and guesturing at the targets, "take a look for yourself."

I turned around to look at the targets and immediately bulked. While going through the supply of bows and arrows, I had found two quivers with arrows that had feathers my favourite shade of green. Both quivers were laying empty a few feet in front of me. And all 20 targets to my left had a green arrow sticking directly from the bull's eye.

That wasn't all. My own target had an 'R', a perfectly stylized capital 'R', with my first missed shot forming the top of the letter, and the 15 other arrows making up the rest. But the remaining four arrows were the truly terrifying part. I knew splitting an arrow was physically possible. But it was so hard to hit the shaft at just the right angle; I had never expected to see it in my life. But that first missed shot that had guaranteed me a spot in the 'not important' list of people, was perfectly split. And so was Alexis's center arrow. And Peter's arrow. And even Abby's, sticking up from the ground.

I couldn't say a word. I just stood there and gaped, until turning to the others for some form of explanation.

"It was like you were a different person." Alexis offered, looking at me. "Right after that first arrow flew. You started shooting off arrows like crazy. At first I thought you were just caught up in the moment like me, but it was more than that. You saved four arrows from your initial volley, then kicked your other quiver into the air."

'And jumped after it." Abby added. She seemed just as happy as she usually was now that she knew I was okay, but I couldn't help notice how she seemed to be hanging closer to her father.

Alexis nodded at Abby's words, than pointed to the large boulder where everyone put their stuff while shooting. "You vaulted off that and did some crazy twisting in air." A big gesture to the 20 targets. "Those were the twenty from your second quiver." A quick movement to the four split arrows. "Those were your other four. All fired in mid-air."

"Some of the best shooting I've ever seen." Alejandro added, though his voice sounded more grim then congratulatory. "And I've met the Hunters of Artemis."

"Maybe it was your godly side kicking-in?" One of the campers suggested, looking at me. "Maybe you're the son of Apollo?"

"Or another Child of Zeus?"

"Maybe your related to an ex-hunter!"

Theories started flying throughout the group, but my eyes sought out Percy. He was the veteran, who had seen more than any camper here, even Annabeth. His face was a mask, and he just stared at me. I had the sinking suspicion he saw something he didn't want to share with the others, so I walked over and stood beside him. I felt his hand rest on my shoulder, and we walked quietly away from the group while the rest were distracted by their ideas.

"What worries me is not the skill, Raymond." He said quietly when we were a fair distance away, "but the fact that you were so different. You didn't respond to anything, you just kept shooting. And your eyes…" He knelt down and looked right at me "they were green. Pure emerald green."

My hand raised instinctively towards my face. "are they still…?" Mr. Jackson shook his head. "then how?"

"I honestly don't know, Raymond. But the only times I've ever seen eyes change colour were during possession."

"You've run into a lot of possessions, have you?"

Percy closed his eyes, before turning his gaze back to the cabins. opening his eyes, he seemed to fix them on cabin 11. "more than I've ever cared for." He cleared his throat then turned back to me. "I doubt it's a god or goddess. You haven't been prepared properly. Likely, it's a spirit from the underworld. "

"And luckily for you we have an expert on camp for just such a thing." Mrs. Jackson suddenly said behind me, causing me to jump.

Mr. Jackson glanced up at his wife. "Where is he?"

"Down by the river as always. He's supervising his sister's training."

Mr. Jackson nodded, then turned back to me. "We'll catch up with the rest at dinner, Raymond. For now, let's go see Nico."


End file.
